Shloka 28
अम्बोपाख्याने तापसानां विचारः तथा होत्रवाहनस्य उपदेशः
Ambā among ascetics; Hotravāhana directs her to Paraśurāma
अनुज्ञाता तु भीष्मेण शाल्वमुद्दिश्य कारणम् । कि नु गहम्यथात्मानमथ भीष्म दुरासदम्,“क्योंकि शाल्वके अनुरागको कारण बताकर मैंने भीष्मसे यहाँ आनेकी आज्ञा ली थी। अब मैं अपनी ही निन्दा करूँ या उस दुर्जय वीर भीष्मको कोसूँ?
anujñātā tu bhīṣmeṇa śālvam uddiśya kāraṇam | ki nu garhyam athātmānam atha bhīṣma durāsadam ||
„Denn unter dem Vorwand meiner Zuneigung zu Shalva erbat ich von Bhishma die Erlaubnis, hierher zu kommen. Was soll ich nun tun: mich selbst tadeln oder Bhishma schmähen, jenen unbezwingbaren und unnahbaren Helden?“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical accountability: when one has acted by using a pretext or stratagem, the proper response is introspection and acceptance of one’s own fault rather than shifting blame onto an upright, steadfast elder whose conduct is not easily impeached.
Bhīṣma is quoted as reflecting on a situation where permission was obtained from him by invoking the ‘reason’ of Śālva. Now the speaker faces a moral dilemma—whether to condemn oneself for the maneuver or to attempt the futile and improper act of censuring Bhīṣma, described as durāsada, ‘unassailable.’